The 49ers are where the Raiders were three years ago – drastically undermanned, in the midst of unrelenting losing, and with Fort Knox-like money under the salary cap. Obviously, the 10-2 Raiders have made the right moves in hiring coach Jack Del Rio, drafting players like Derek Carr and Amari Cooper, and acquiring players like …

Cornerbacks such as Carlos Rogers of the 49ers sometimes must wonder if football really is the ultimate team game.
Rogers watches an opposing wide receiver, his assignment, split out farther than usual. Rogers knows his safety is not much help, station… …

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio —
Jed York is making lunch recommendations, and he’s touting basically the whole menu.
Cavatelli with meatballs. That’s great.
Gnocchi. Terrific.
You can’t go wrong with the stuffed shells here.
And, by the way, do you know what wedd… …

Everyone talks about the Raiders’ speed and their coach’s commitment to “Building a Bully.” But the other thing clearly on display in Oakland’s 34-24 win over the New York Jets on Sunday and generally in its 2-1 start is the blocking. Not only up front… …

Jim Harbaugh operated out of a “we get no respect” formation after the 49ers’ season-opening win, observing that the networks had obscured the game in their highlights shows.
That slight, however, was nothing compared to the price the 49ers paid for t… …

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Niners coach Jim Harbaugh said gimpy running back Frank Gore would be “good to go” when San Francisco visits Philadelphia on Sunday.
On the status of struggling right guard Chilo Rachal, though, Harbaugh was far less definitive Mond… …

Youngstown, Ohio — They are passionate about their football here.
Just ask 49ers center Jonathan Goodwin.
On the 49ers’ first full day in the city Monday, a group of players visited a children’s hospital, where coach Jim Harbaugh introduced them to a… …

* Nose guard Isaac Sopoaga reprised his cameo appearance at fullback from 2010 and led the way for Frank Gore on a successful third-down-2 conversion on the Niners’ go-ahead touchdown drive. Gore gained four yards on the play.

Cincinnati — – With the game hanging in the balance, the bell cow was a bystander.
After hurting his ankle in the second quarter, Niners workhorse running back Frank Gore was a frustrated spectator during the crucial moments of San Francisco’s 13-8 wi… …

(09-25) 18:37 PDT Cincinnati —
Vernon Davis met with coach Jim Harbaugh last week and said he thought the 49ers could do a better job of getting all their offensive “playmakers” involved.
On Sunday, San Francisco, through all its offensive sputtering… …

(09-25) 19:27 PDT Cincinnati — After a game that saw his team produce 13 points and even fewer style points, 49ers president and CEO Jed York emerged from the winning locker room with a smile and a joke dripping with sarcasm Sunday.
“It was just like … …

(09-25) 18:33 PDT Cincinnati — The round-up of usual suspects came to an abrupt halt.
The 49ers repeated all the familiar offenses on Sunday, including losing enough yardage on sacks and false-start penalties to push them across the Ohio state line. … …

At 5-feet-10 and 186 pounds, Kyle Williams isn’t the type of wide receiver NFL teams generally target on fade routes in the end zone.
Last week, however, the 49ers’ preferred pass-catcher in such situations, Braylon Edwards, was sidelined by a knee inj… …